Law Enforcement Officers Killed By Concealed Carry Killers

The following vignettes describe the circumstances for incidents in which private individuals legally allowed to carry concealed handguns killed law enforcement officers. The descriptions include the current, known status of any charges filed against the concealed carry killer as reported by news sources as well as noting instances where the perpetrator committed suicide.

The Violence Policy Center welcomes any new information regarding the status of any case (with verifiable source(s)). Use this link to contact the VPC: http://www.vpc.org/contact.htm.

Alabama

Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Bart Johnson CONVICTED

Circumstances: On December 3, 2009, Bart Johnson shot and killed Pelham, Alabama, police officer Philip Davis during a routine traffic stop. Officer Davis had stopped Johnson for speeding. According to videotape from the officer’s patrol car, Davis and Johnson spoke briefly, and Davis then went to write Johnson a ticket. Upon his return, Johnson told Davis that his brother was a police officer. Officer Davis replied, “Why didn’t you tell me that before? Let me have his name and number so I can tell him what happened.” Then, “unprovoked and without a word, Johnson fired one shot, striking Davis in the face.” Johnson fled the scene, abandoned his Acura, and attempted to break into another vehicle. When he was noticed by someone, Johnson displayed his gun and waved the person away. He was later picked up by his brother and surrendered to authorities. A local pharmacist, Johnson obtained a concealed weapons permit in 2007 and renewed it in 2008 and 2009. He is charged with capital murder.

UPDATE: On May 12, 2011, Bart Johnson was found guilty of capital murder in the death of Officer Davis. He was convicted on two counts, one for the murder of an off- duty police officer and one for causing death by shooting into an occupied vehicle. On June 16, 2011, Johnson was sentenced to death by lethal injection.

Florida

Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Humberto Delgado, Jr. CONVICTED

Circumstances: Humberto Delgado Jr., 34, allegedly shot and killed 11-year Tampa police veteran Corporal Mike Roberts after the officer responded to a suspicious person call. Delgado was pushing a shopping cart which turned out to be filled with military gear, a Kel-Tec assault rifle, a Taurus .45 pistol, and a .22 revolver. He also had a Glock 17 pistol in a backpack. When Corporal Roberts tried to question Delgado, a struggle ensued and Roberts was shot while on his back. Although Corporal Roberts was wearing body armor, a bullet struck him in an unprotected area and entered his chest. Delgado had been a law enforcement officer in the Virgin Islands for four years until 2000 and had served in the U.S. Army. He had a concealed handgun permit issued in North Carolina. Florida has reciprocity with North Carolina. A search of Delgado’s storage unit uncovered another firearm, a laser sight, a copy of Shooter’s Bible, and a certificate for completion of a firearms safety course. Delgado faces charges of premeditated murder and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.

UPDATE: On November 15, 2011, Delgado was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Corporal Mike Roberts. He was sentenced to death on February 11, 2012.

UPDATE: On April 23, 2015, The Florida Supreme Court overturned Delgado’s death sentence and ordered his case back before the trial judge in order to impose a life sentence.

Florida

Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: James Wonder PENDING

Circumstances: On August 5, 2008, James Wonder allegedly shot and killed U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent Donald Pettit after a road-rage incident. After the two got into a shouting and finger-pointing match while driving, Wonder pulled into a post office parking lot, Pettit followed and was shot and killed. After the shooting, Wonder sped away to a kidney dialysis appointment where he told a nurse that whomever had killed the agent must have been a “professional.” He then went home, hid the gun, changed his hair color, and rented a car to reportedly hide his involvement in the shooting. Wonder, who had a concealed handgun permit, has been indicted on manslaughter charges.

Source: “Police: Suspect in agent’s killing told nurses of road rage argument: Police: Suspect in federal agent’s killing described a road rage fight,” South Florida Sun-Sentinel, August 21, 2008; “Man charged in agent’s road rage killing out on bail; A Broward retiree who was charged in the death of a customs agent paid bail and was released from jail on Friday,” Miami Herald, August 30, 2008.

Georgia

Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Michael Dewayne Bowman PENDING

Date: May 31, 2014People Killed: 1Law Enforcement Officers Killed: 1

Circumstances: On May 31, 2014, concealed handgun permit holder Michael Dewayne Bowman, 30, allegedly shot and killed Griffin Police Officer Kevin Jordan, 43, who was working an off-duty security job in uniform at a Waffle House restaurant. According to police, Bowman was drunk when he and his girlfriend Chantell Mixon, 28, entered the Waffle House after 2:00 AM on the morning of May 31, 2014. According to police, Bowman and Mixon caused a disturbance and were asked to leave the restaurant. An altercation spilled into the parking lot where Officer Jordan attempted to arrest Mixon. Officer Jordan, a father of seven, was on the ground attempting to restrain Mixon when Bowman allegedly shot him multiple times in the back. Officer Jordan’s brother Raymond, who was visiting from Illinois, then shot Bowman, who was taken to the hospital in stable condition. Raymond Jordan also had a concealed carry permit. Bowman and Mixon were charged with felony murder.

Idaho

Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Jason Kenneth Hamilton SUICIDE

Circumstances: On May 19, 2007, Jason Kenneth Hamilton, 36, a member of the white supremacist group Aryan Nations, shot and killed his wife, a police officer, and a church sexton, and wounded three others before turning the gun on himself in a shooting spree in Moscow, Idaho. Hamilton had a concealed handgun permit “despite a [previous] domestic violence conviction that should have barred him from owning guns.”

Indiana

Concealed Handgun Permit Holder:Jason Brown PENDING

Date: July 27, 2017People Killed: 1Law Enforcement Officers Killed: 1
Circumstances: On July 27, 2017, concealed handgun permit holder Jason Brown, 28, allegedly shot and killed Southport police Lt. Aaron Allan, a six-year veteran of the Southport Police Department. Allan was responding to a report of an overturned vehicle, and when he approached to check the status of what he expected to be the victim of a serious car crash, he was shot multiple times. According to police documents, Brown fired the shots from his overturned vehicle. Brown works as a tattoo artist and is a gun enthusiast, posting several photos on Instagram of himself holding various types of guns, and, in a Facebook post, showed a gun with the text, “Why do I carry a pistol? Because my AR-15 doesn’t fit in my pants.” In 2013, Brown was found guilty of possession of marijuana or a synthetic cannabinoid and was sentenced to 30 days in a county jail. Brown was taken to the hospital following the crash and shooting, and was arrested on suspicion of murder and a marijuana possession charge.

Source: “Who is Jason Brown? Woman who’s known him his whole life says shooting suspect is ‘shy, timid,’” www.theindychannel.com, July 28, 2017.

Indiana

Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Michael Hrnciar SUICIDE

Circumstances: On September 5, 2014, concealed handgun permit holder Michael Hrnciar, 33, shot and killed Merrillville Police Officer Nickolaus Schultz, 24, before turning the handgun on himself. Hrnciar was reportedly evicted from his condominium in July 2014 following a foreclosure. In August 2014, the condo’s property management said they had to change damaged locks at Hrnciar’s unit after discovering they had been tampered with and the unit entered. On September 5, 2014, police were called when Hrnciar’s vehicle was seen parked outside his former home and the previously closed windows of the condo were now open. Police unsuccessfully attempted to get Hrnciar to answer the door before they forced their way into the condo. With no electrical power in the unit, the two officers searched the unit by flashlight. Hrnciar, wearing police-style body armor, ambushed the officers, firing two shots from his .45 handgun. One of the rounds struck Officer Schultz, with the other hitting a wall. Hrnciar then fired a third shot, which drew return gunfire from the second officer. The Lake County Coroner’s Office later determined that Hrnciar died from a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and was not struck by police gunfire. According to police, Hrnciar moved from Illinois to Indiana in 2006 so that he could legally carry a handgun. Hrnciar had a valid Indiana Handgun Permit issued in 2006, the same year he bought the handgun used in the shooting. Hrnciar also had a fascination with commercial-grade fireworks and evidence indicated that he was illegally manufacturing explosives. He also possessed a half-gallon jar of high-grade processed marijuana and a non-functioning marijuana growing operation.

Michigan

Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Name Not Provided PENDING

Circumstances: Between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011, Michigan State Police report that one Michigan concealed handgun permit holder had criminal homicide charges pending for the killing of a law enforcement officer. In their annual report, the Michigan State Police do not release the alleged offender’s name, the exact date of the event, nor the type of weapon allegedly used in the homicide.

New York

Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Shawn Bryan SUICIDE

Circumstances: On June 4, 2012, New York City Department of Correction Officer and concealed handgun permit holder Shawn Bryan, 34, shot and killed Springfield, Massachusetts, Police Officer Kevin Ambrose, 56, and shot and critically wounded his ex-girlfriend Charlene Mitchell, 29. Bryan and Mitchell’s one-year-old daughter was in the apartment at the time of the shooting but was unhurt. Mitchell had gone to court that day to take out an order of protection saying that Bryan was physically abusive towards her, describing him as mentally unstable and domineering, writing, “He is a demon.” Bryan had sent Mitchell multiple text messages including one that said, “I’m going to make you wish you were not born.” On the afternoon of June 4th, Mitchell called police to say Bryan was on the way to see her and that she feared for her life. Officer Ambrose arrived on the scene and found Mitchell and Bryan outside. The three of them then made their way to Mitchell’s third floor apartment. As they were entering, Bryan pushed Mitchell inside the apartment and followed, shutting the door and leaving Officer Ambrose outside. Bryan fired at Ambrose through the door with his 9mm pistol then opened the door and fired at him again. Bryan then turned the gun on Mitchell and shot her in the head before running back to his car where he shot himself in the chest. Bryan and Ambrose died from their wounds while Mitchell was in critical condition following surgery.

Ohio

Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Ashford Thompson CONVICTED

Date: July 13, 2008People Killed: 1Law Enforcement Officers Killed: 1

Circumstances: On July 13, 2008, Ashford Thompson shot a police officer four times in the head after he was pulled over for playing loud music. Thompson used a Kel-Tec P11 “pocket pistol” in the shooting. Thompson, who had a concealed handgun permit issued by Cuyahoga County and had received a certificate for completing a concealed-carry class, pled guilty to aggravated murder.

UPDATE: Thompson’s guilty plea was later tossed out by the Ohio Supreme Court because of a technicality. Thompson was then tried by a jury and entered a plea of not guilty. In June 2010 Thompson was found guilty of aggravated murder and escape, among other charges. He was sentenced to death in June 2010.

Pennsylvania

Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Richard Poplawski CONVICTED

Date: April 4, 2009People Killed: 3Law Enforcement Officers Killed: 3

Circumstances: On April 4, 2009, white supremacist Richard Poplawski shot and killed police officers Stephen Mayhle, Paul Sciullo, and Eric Kelly while injuring another. Among the guns used in the shootout by Poplawski were an AK-47 assault rifle, a pistol, and a shotgun. He had a concealed handgun permit despite a former girlfriend having obtained a protection-from-abuse order against him. Poplawski’s mother told police that he had been “stockpiling guns and ammunition…because he believed that as a result of the economic collapse, the police were no longer able to protect society.” She additionally stated that “her son ‘only liked police when they were not curtailing his constitutional rights, which he was determined to protect.’” Poplawski was charged with three counts of criminal homicide and one count of aggravated assault. He pled not guilty. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

UPDATE: On June 26, 2011, Poplawski was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder as well as 25 other crimes. He was sentenced to death.

Pennsylvania

Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Christina Korbe CONVICTED

Circumstances: On November 19, 2008, Christina Korbe shot and killed FBI Special Agent Samuel Hicks. Federal agents, led by Agent Hicks, had entered Korbe’s home to serve an arrest warrant on her husband. The gun used by Korbe in the incident was a 38 caliber Taurus Ultra-Lite revolver. In addition to being charged with killing an FBI agent, Korbe, who had a concealed handgun permit, was charged in federal court with firearm offenses.

UPDATE: On January 18, 2011, Christina Korbe pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and committing a crime of violence with a firearm. Korbe was sentenced to 70 months for manslaughter, 120 months for the firearm offense, and was given credit for time already served.

Source: “Pennsylvania woman gets 16 years in FBI killing case,” Reuters, January 18, 2011; “Korbe Remorseful for Shooting Death of FBI Agent,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 10, 2008; Indictment of Christina Marie Korbe, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, January 8, 2009; “More charges filed against accused killer of FBI agent,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 19, 2009.

South Carolina

Circumstances: On September 8, 2014, police knocked on the door of concealed handgun permit holder Michael Donovan Oswald, 38, after neighbors complained about a drunken man beating on doors and cars. Using an AK-47-style assault rifle, Oswald fired through the door, killing Deputy Joseph Matuskovic, 45, and wounding Deputy Michael Ackerman, 43. Two off-duty sheriff’s deputies who lived in the apartment community had called for help knowing that the on-duty law enforcement personnel would have bullet-resistant vests, which they did not. One of the off-duty deputies who lived in the apartment complex helped return fire, and Oswald was later found dead of gunshot wounds. Oswald was known as a combative man with a long arrest history who frequently got into bar fights. In 2003, Oswald had been convicted for driving under the influence and hit and run with property damage.

Sources: “Authorities: Man who shot deputies had military-style rifle, combative past,” Post and Courier, September 11, 2014; “After deputy killed in West Ashley, ‘incomprehensible’ night became even more difficult to bear,” Post and Courier, September 9, 2014.

Texas

Concealed Handgun Permit Holder:William Francis Kenny SUICIDE

Date: April 13, 2017People Killed: 2 (including shooter)

Circumstances: On April 3, 2017, concealed handgun permit holder William Francis Kenny, 64, shot and killed Assistant Chief Deputy Constable Clint Greenwood moments after Greenwood pulled into the parking lot of the courthouse where he worked in Baytown, Texas. Kenny was found dead the next day from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. A website linked to Kenny revealed a long-standing grudge against Harris County, Texas police, which started after a 2012 complaint made to police about Kenny by Kenny’s then father-in-law. Clint Greenwood’s name was mentioned on the website several times. Ballistics confirmed that the same 9mm Taurus pistol found on Kenny was used to murder Greenwood. The photo on Kenny’s concealed carry license was used to match him to surveillance video from Greenwood’s murder.

Virginia

Circumstances: On March 13, 2011, Randy Gilbert Newberry, 52, opened fire on Virginia sheriff’s deputies killing two and critically wounding two others. Newberry used a high-powered rifle in the sniper attack, firing approximately 50 rounds in the assault. He was killed by police when he pointed a handgun at responding officers. Newberry’s neighbors were stunned by the lethal outburst by someone with no criminal history. He had renewed his concealed handgun permit three times since 1999, most recently in 2009. Newberry was an avid hunter who liked guns according to neighbors.

Source: “Randy Gilbert Newberry lived quiet life according to neighbors, records,” TriCities.com, March 15, 2011; “Conley: ‘It smelled like it smelled in Vietnam. It’s like those shots fill the air and hang there forever,” TriCities.com, March 15, 2011; “Va. Mountain sniper who killed 2 deputies, wounded 2 others made final phone call to his wife,” Associated Press, March 14, 2011.

PRESS

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